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A review by caitforshort
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a dark, brutal sapphic fantasy and it hits like a truck. This book is about empire, and about the brutality of empire, and how colonialism directly and profoundly impacts colonized people; as a result, this book does not shy away from depicting racism, homophobia, war, and eugenics, and I think it depicts these things with grace. It never feels exploitative. The homophobia in particular is explored in depth, as the empire at the center of the story (and the empire our protagonist Baru Cormorant is interested in taking down) is built on anti-queer eugenics and uses heterosexuality and monogamy as institutions of colonial power; this was a really interesting way to explore queerness in fantasy, as the main way that Baru Cormorant engages with queerness is politically, rather than sexually or romantically. We spend a lot of time with the politics of queerness, the dangers of queerness, the way queer identities are policed and regulated, and comparably less time with a queer couple experiencing queer love and/or queer joy. I don't view this as a flaw of the book at all, and there is a sapphic relationship in this book that destroyed me as a person.
I also want to give a shoutout to Seth Dickinson for creating a fantasy protagonist who is an accountant. A lot of high fantasy spends time with knights and warriors and royalty, which this book does as well, but at the heart of the political machinations in Baru Cormorant is money, and how money moves, and how the economic engine of an empire expands the empire's power. Colonization starts with economic influence. The webs of finance and influence are complex and interesting and overall surprisingly easy to follow, given how dense the 400 pages of this novel are.
I honestly have very few critiques of this book. I read 340 pages of it in one day for a bookclub and it was compelling and I was riveted; the prose is gorgeous, the characters are messy and human, the devastating ending is foreshadowed beautifully (and I still didn't quite see it coming), and it wrapped up in a satisfying way while still leaving plenty for the rest of the series to sink its teeth into. The only thing I really struggled with in parts was the pacing and setting; sometimes huge swathes of time pass unexpectedly, and sometimes we go from one location to another without a getting a good sense of what either location looks or feels like. On a few occasions, we go from an intricate, dialog-heavy scene to several pages of exposition about military movements, and it felt a bit jarring at times.
I also want to give a shoutout to Seth Dickinson for creating a fantasy protagonist who is an accountant. A lot of high fantasy spends time with knights and warriors and royalty, which this book does as well, but at the heart of the political machinations in Baru Cormorant is money, and how money moves, and how the economic engine of an empire expands the empire's power. Colonization starts with economic influence. The webs of finance and influence are complex and interesting and overall surprisingly easy to follow, given how dense the 400 pages of this novel are.
I honestly have very few critiques of this book. I read 340 pages of it in one day for a bookclub and it was compelling and I was riveted; the prose is gorgeous, the characters are messy and human, the devastating ending is foreshadowed beautifully (and I still didn't quite see it coming), and it wrapped up in a satisfying way while still leaving plenty for the rest of the series to sink its teeth into. The only thing I really struggled with in parts was the pacing and setting; sometimes huge swathes of time pass unexpectedly, and sometimes we go from one location to another without a getting a good sense of what either location looks or feels like. On a few occasions, we go from an intricate, dialog-heavy scene to several pages of exposition about military movements, and it felt a bit jarring at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, War, and Genocide
Minor: Rape